1st Álvaro Bautista, 1.39.510 (22 laps)“I’m really happy because even though it’s only the first day we’ve lapped really well. I’ve improved my lap time from last year and even improved on the lap record at this track so I’m very satisfied. We didn’t have the perfect set-up this morning and I crashed at the end of the session. But in qualifying we changed the geometry of my Aprilia and I felt much more comfortable, to the point that I was able to set that lap time. The adjustments to the engine also worked and we’ve gained in acceleration. Because of the way the track is here you need the engine to be working perfectly. At the end of qualifying there was a lot of traffic on track and I was only able to get one fast lap in. Hopefully we can improve tomorrow and set a better pace – I’m sure everybody else will so we can’t go to sleep.”

12th Héctor Faubel, 1.41.178 (20 laps)“Everything went well on this first day apart from the final five minutes of qualifying. We put a different tyre on to normal and I improved my time but I didn’t feel as comfortable as usual. We’ve started out with the same set-up as Mugello and Montmeló, which I feel comfortable with and I’m very motivated because Donington was a tough weekend from the start. This is one of my favourite circuits, I did well here on the 125cc last year and I want to continue that level in this category. The feeling is good and the pace too so hopefully we can improve on it tomorrow.”